Toronto Neighbourhoods

Trends and Changing Patterns in Real Estate

Real Estate Trend

With house prices skyrocketing, people are changing their buying patterns and looking for affordable, alternative housing solutions. Here are a few trends to watch out for.

Multiple Family Dwellings are More Popular Than Ever

People used to buy this type of property primarily for investment purposes. That’s still mostly the case, but they’re becoming popular for other reasons:

– Foreign investors are moving their money to more stable countries, such as Canada, to preserve their capital and driving up prices regardless of low to average returns
– Multiple generations are choosing to live together for financial reasons and to take care of ageing parents.
– Empty nesters are choosing to buy multiple-family dwellings and living on the main floor giving them a patch of grass on the ground and retirement income from renting out other floors.

Parents are Planning Ahead and Buying Real Estate for Their Children Early

With rising home prices, many parents are concerned their children won’t be able to afford a house when they’re older.

Outskirt and Suburban Areas are Becoming More Popular

It used to be hard to convince buyers to buy properties outside of prime boundaries. Now prime locales have become so expensive that buyers are willing to live in outskirt areas. This is driving up prices in these communities, so it might be a good time to buy now.

Buyers are More Open to the Idea of Living on High Traffic Streets

Houses on busy streets used to be a hard sell. But with home prices being so high, buyers are now very open to buying houses on busy streets across GTA. The same is true for houses near freeways, across from schools, and next to apartment buildings.

Basement Apartments are Booming

They’re more desirable than ever. Buyers are giving lots of weight to houses with basement apartments. This trend is common place in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver where many homeowners have basement tenants that supplement their mortgage payments.

Big condos are Very Desirable

Builders are aware of this and are building larger units to accommodate this trend. They appeal to people who want to live a city lifestyle, but cannot afford the price of houses downtown.

Green, Low-Maintenance Homes are Hot

With increases in property taxes and utility fees, buyers are giving lots of weight to homes that are built or renovated to be energy efficient. They cost less to run and require less maintenance in the long run.

 

All credit goes to Agent Olena

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